


Winner's Privilege

by YumeHanabi



Series: Blue Shards [6]
Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Board Games, Developing Relationship, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 11:12:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeHanabi/pseuds/YumeHanabi
Summary: The loser owes the winner a small favor. But tonight the stakes might be a little higher than they anticipated.





	Winner's Privilege

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jerevinan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jerevinan/gifts).



> Merry Christmas! I hope you'll like it :)
> 
> For the prompt “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.”

It was an ordinary night in the Taurus fortress. Gaius and Wingul had spent the day planning their next move and were now relaxing in Gaius’ chambers over a game of generals. Wingul enjoyed strategy games and excelled at them – a bit too much, in fact. Finding worthy opponents was rare. Nils used to be his usual challenger when they were younger, but he was way too predictable and easily defeated. Gaius, however, could hold himself against him, and even though Wingul still won most of their games, his commander often posed a challenge and forced him to adapt his usual strategies. Whereas Wingul could predict most of Nils’ moves before the game had even started, he never knew what to expect of Gaius, as the man changed his play style easily from one game to the other. This was one of the many things Wingul had come to admire about him.

That night, Gaius had started the game offensively, and Wingul was having some trouble fending off his attacks while building his castle. This did not particularly worry him, however, as he usually was a master of defensive play. His king would not be an easy target.

“Playing aggressively tonight, huh?” he remarked.

Gaius smirked. “Yes. I absolutely need to win this time.”

“Do you have a particular request in mind?”

To increase the stakes beyond simple friendly competition, they had established a rule that the loser would fulfill the winner’s request. It was usually little things, though you could never be sure with Gaius.

“I hope you’re not planning to send me all the way to Hamil to buy you napple dumplings like last time,” he stated while moving his gold general next to his king.

“You’ll see,” Gaius replied with a mysterious smile. He moved another of his pawns forward.

“I’m afraid I won’t if you keep doing that. You may be pressuring me now, but keeping your king in place is going to leave it open for attacks later.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“I’ve never lost against a sitting king.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Gaius’ voice sounded a little too gleeful, which made Wingul look up and look at him suspiciously. Could this be a trap? But how? Where?

“What are you planning?”

Gaius let out a chuckle. “Always so calculating. I’m just testing a new strategy I came up with the other day. I think it will be very effective against you.”

Wingul searched Gaius’ face for some hint of what he had in mind, but all he showed was that unnerving smile. That did not bode well. Gaius was a good player, but he rarely had true strategies, rather letting his instinct dictate his next moves. That is what made him so unpredictable and, he had to admit, fun to play against. Nevertheless, an experienced strategic player like Wingul often managed to get the upper hand eventually. For Gaius to have devised a strategy… Maybe he was right to be worried.

_Okay._

_Calm down._

It was not like him to let his opponent lead the game. Whatever Gaius was planning, he could overcome it if he just stayed careful. He closed his eyes and started visualizing the game board in his mind, analyzing every move Gaius could make and how to counter them. This was something he was good at, and so far his predictions had rarely been wrong.

Several minutes passed in silence while he was planning his moves. He vaguely sensed Gaius shifting his posture; he must have been getting impatient. Finally satisfied with his predicted outcome, he opened his eyes and took his flying chariot off the board. He was about to place it back into a new position when he caught movement on Gaius’ side from the corner of his eye. He looked up.

_Baiba._

“What are you _doing?_ ”

Gaius had unbuttoned his tunic and was in the process of removing it.

“I’m hot.”

_Yes, you are._

He repressed the thought immediately, irritated at himself for letting his mind so easily wander. This was not the first time he’d seen the man without a shirt, there was no reason to be flustered. _Like any of the other times_ , he thought. But he had only himself to complain to. He knew Gaius had a tendency to undress when the heat was too much for him, which was more frequently than decency would dictate, especially during physical activities such as sword practice; the whole camp had probably seen his bare chest at one point or another, and many had even taken to imitating him. Even the women in their ranks did not shy away from removing a layer from time to time when sparring. He personally would rather drown in sweat than expose himself that way, but such was the way in Taurus. Although, if he were honest with himself, he usually did not mind when Gaius did that. He would often find an excuse to observe their practice from afar and indulge in the view his commander offered. Of course, he always ensured that no one would realize what he was doing, for his attraction his future king had to stay hidden, especially from the man himself.

_Focus, focus._

Now was not the time to lament over his unrequited feelings. He had a game to win.

His hand holding the piece lowered as Gaius chose this moment to start fanning himself with his hand.

“I can’t wait for Ragnome to start. Efreeta is always unbearable in these climes.”

“Stop distracting me,” Wingul muttered under his breath. Letting his attention be drawn to the other man in such circumstances was dangerous. Watching him practice from afar was relatively harmless, but here they were in close quarters, the setting much more intimate. He would not be able to conceal his blushing cheeks for long.

Gaius gave him an inquisitive stare.

“Never mind,” he sighed, and finally placed his piece on the board.

Wait.

_No. Not there._

He realized his mistake one moment too late. A few seconds of distraction had been all it took for his chariot to be pushed one case too far, leaving it without protection and open to be swept by Gaius’ knight, as he witnessed with dismay.

“Thank you for the offering,” Gaius smirked. Of course he hadn’t missed the opportunity.

Wingul’s blush deepened in embarrassment. Had he such little control over his emotions that he would make such a basic mistake? He tried to make up for it over the next few moves, but it all went downhill from there. The gratuitous loss of a major piece had been harsh, and one by one his defenses crumbled, until his king was forced to surrender by none other than his own chariot, now promoted dragon in the hands of the opponent. He bowed his head in defeat.

“You win this one.”

“So it seems. I didn’t expect you to lose so easily. If you hadn’t misplaced that chariot… It’s not like you to misjudge a move.”

To Wingul’s relief, Gaius put his tunic back on, though it was a little too late. His humiliating defeat was proof of that. Now all he could hope was for him not to realize why he had lost his concentration. As he was thinking of an excuse to explain his poor performance, Gaius spoke again in the same gleeful tone as earlier.

“Looks like my strategy worked.”

Wingul frowned. What strategy? All he had done was take advantage of his mistake. That’s when he noticed how Gaius’ hand lingered on the last button before dropping to his side, leaving his throat exposed. He felt the blood drain from his cheeks as the realization settled in.

“You noticed at last,” Gaius laughed heartily.

“That was on _purpose?_ ”

Now that he thought about it, the timing had been a little too perfect to be a coincidence. But how did he know?

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think no one is looking,” Gaius answered, as if reading his mind. “And how shaky your sword grip is when we spar together.”

“That’s because…” But he could not come up with a suitable explanation.

“Spare me your excuses, I am not naive. You enjoy the view, don’t you?”

The return of his blush answered Gaius’ question, and he did not even try to hide it this time. There was no way he could get out of this situation smoothly. Now that Gaius had caught him, he had no choice but to confirm it.

“Don’t read too much into it, it’s just teenage hormones. It will pass,” he muttered, looking down.

“Is that all?” Gaius’ voice suddenly lost its teasing tone.

It was not, but he hoped Gaius would not see through the lie. It would be better left at that. He knew his feelings were inappropriate, and besides, the chances Gaius would reciprocate were close to zero. There was no need to draw out this conversation. But the words he knew he needed to speak were hard for him to say. Perhaps some part of him still held on to some fragment of hope.

“Wingul, look at me—”

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable.” They had spoken at the same time, but he paid it no heed and continued on, forcing the words out before he lost his nerve. “This will not happen again. I will keep my distances from now on, and no longer try to get close to you more than necessary. I will know my place, and never overstep again. That is what you wanted to request, isn’t it?”

Oh how he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole right this instant.

“Wingul, that’s not—” Gaius tried to interject, but he interrupted him again. The sooner he would be done, the faster he could go back to his room. He felt he was going to start crying if this went on for any longer, and he did not think he would be able to handle the humiliation if he did. It was better to retreat quickly.

“Please rest assured that this will not affect my work in any way,” he said tensely. “I should go now. Good night.”

He got up and gave Gaius a curt bow, then made his way toward the door, but Gaius beat him to it and blocked his way.

“Wait, Wingul. Hear me out.”

“Let me through.”

“Just one thing—”

“ _Please._ ” His voice sounded disgustingly pathetic. “Let me keep some dignity.”

Gaius relented, looking oddly defeated, and finally stepped aside.

“As you wish. Just allow me to apologize. I’m sorry I teased you earlier. I didn’t mean for you to take it that way.”

That gave Wingul pause. What way did he mean it, then? Conflicting emotions fought within him; on one hand, his need to run back to his bedroom and bury himself under the covers in shame; on the other hand, his now piqued curiosity about what Gaius wanted to tell him, along with some tiny shred of hope that maybe, _maybe_ , he would not have to avoid him after all. The latter eventually prevailed, as he felt he might regret not listening to what he had to say now. He gave himself a few seconds to steady his breathing, then turned around and sat back in the spot he had occupied on the floor during their game.

“Fine, I’ll hear you out. What did you mean?”

Gaius’ expression brightened with relief. This reassured him somewhat. If the man was happy to be able to share his thoughts, perhaps he had jumped to the worst-case scenario a little hastily.

Gaius came to sit down in front of him. He was close. So close, in fact, that their knees were almost touching. Wingul felt his heart start beating faster, but he did not move away and forced himself to hold Gaius’ intense gaze. Gaius seemed to hesitate a moment, then reached out and took his right hand into his own, sending shivers up his arm in the process.

“I do not want you to distance yourself,” he said gently. “On the contrary: I wanted to ask you if you wanted to take it further.”

Wingul tried to respond, but suddenly found himself at a loss for words. It was like his pounding heart had suddenly lodged itself into his throat. Gaius must have noticed, because he let out a small chuckle and pursued, answering his silent question.

“I’d noticed your looks and wanted to confirm my suspicions before bringing it up, in case I was mistaken. What do you say? If your feelings run a little deeper than simple hormones, would you like to act on them?”

Wingul stared at him in disbelief. This could not be happening, could it? Only in his wildest dreams could such a conversation take place. He had taken great care not to delude himself. After all, his chances were close to zero. _But not exactly zero_ , hope reminded him.

“I-I shouldn’t,” he finally managed to croak out. “It would not be proper of me to…”

Gaius let out an exasperated laugh.

“Who cares about what’s proper? I’m just asking about what you’d like. All right, let me reword that: **I** want you to act on them. Will you humor me?”

Seeing as he still did not dare answer, Gaius tried again.

“Winner’s privilege! You owe me a favor.”

Wingul swallowed, still unable to quell his fluttering heart, and listened with trepidation.

“I’m going to give you two choices. You pick one, and I’ll respect whatever decision you take, no question. Do you follow me?”

He nodded.

“First choice: you get up and go back to your room, and I’ll forget everything that happened here tonight.”

Wingul closed his eyes. So he was giving him the option to go back to how things were. But would they truly be able to, now that their desires were out in the open?

“And the second?”

“Kiss me now.”

Despite his previous hesitation, it did not take long for Wingul to make a decision.

_This is a bad idea._ He gripped Gaius’ wrist with his right hand, using it to pull him himself forward. He could feel Gaius’ pulse under his thumb, beating as fast as his own.

_He’s your commander. Your future king._ His left hand reached for Gaius’ shoulder as he steadied himself.

_You are not worthy._ Their faces were inches from each other now.

_This isn’t proper._

_Who cares about what’s proper?_  he fiercely echoed Gaius’ words. All that mattered now was what they both wanted.

His mind was blissfully silent when their lips finally met.

* * *

The next time Gaius tried to distract his tactician during a game, he was annihilated so thoroughly he never dared try to embarrass him in that way ever again. But from that night on, winner’s privilege would bring about many long evenings in each other’s arms. It seemed humiliating defeats were not always a bad thing after all.


End file.
